Yen, dollar firm as bumper rates week keeps safe-havens bid

SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) – The yen rallied and the dollar pushed up from a two-month low in Asian trading on Tuesday, as renewed volatility sent investors looking for havens ahead of delayed U.S. jobs data and a clutch of central bank decisions.
The yen shot up 0.3% to 154.735 against the dollar, as traders braced for the Bank of Japan’s decision on Friday, at which it is widely expected to hike rates by 25 basis points to 0.75%.

“Market optimism over a Bank of Japan hike this Friday remains intact,” said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore. “While the U.S. tech and Asian equity sell-off did weigh on sentiment, it was not affecting the currencies too broadly.”
The dollar index , which measures the currency’s strength against a basket of six key rivals, was trading at 98.256, nudging higher after earlier approaching the lowest level since October 17.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its long-awaited combined employment reports for October and November later on Tuesday, following delays to data collection during the longest U.S. government shutdown in history. A raft of preliminary manufacturing indicators are also due for release.